"The blue-haired girl leading them out is so beautiful and elegant!" Kayla couldn't help whispering in admiration.
"And somehow she looks a little familiar."
"That's the First Princess of the Kingdom!" Adele lowered her voice to explain. "Did you forget? She attended the exchange last year as well and gave a brilliant performance."
"No wonder she looked familiar... But if she's the First Princess, that means there's at least a Second Princess, right?"
Adele nodded. "Yeah, and word is she's attending this exchange too, but I've never seen her in person, so I don't know what she looks like."
As the representatives from Glory Cael disembarked from the airship one after another, more and more eyes across the square converged on them.
"There really are a lot of completely unfamiliar faces..." Kayla's gaze swept through the crowd, suddenly freezing at a certain spot. "Wait, why are there two little kids mixed into their group?"
Adele followed her gaze. "And one of them is wearing a robe that doesn't fit her height at all. She looks so adorable!"
"Speaking of adorable, people from the Five Great Magic Academies really are over the top. Beside the First Princess, there are actually so many good-looking girls," Kayla couldn't help remarking.
"Especially those three girls in the middle with gray, pink, and red hair—I feel like if I stood right in front of them, I'd lose all my confidence as a woman."
"Wow! Look there too!" Adele suddenly tugged excitedly on her companion's sleeve. "Look at that blonde guy behind them! He's so handsome! In all my life, I've never seen a guy this handsome before!"
Kayla looked in the direction she was pointing and couldn't help freezing for a second. "And he's taking the initiative to carry luggage for the girls—what a total gentleman!"
"I just wonder where that scratch on his face came from." Adele tilted her head, a trace of heartache in her voice.
"Though it couldn't have been done by a person, since there's no way anyone could have the heart to harm a face that's practically a work of art."
Melina, standing behind the two of them, raised her head slightly upon hearing their words and glanced over.
However, the moment her gaze met that boy's, the first thing she felt was an inexplainable... disgust.
...
"Hey, don't think I'm going to forgive you just because you're carrying my stuff right now. That claw scratch didn't even get half the anger out of me!" Victoria said to Greg, who had taken her luggage for her after they disembarked from the airship.
Feeling the burning gazes directed at him from girls of other magic academies all around, Greg replied in a calm tone, "Junior Sister, you misunderstand. I'm not doing this right now to make amends. I simply want to be a good person, that's all."
He was telling the truth—at least partly.
Ever since the airship landed, Greg's plan had already been set into motion.
During the Hundred Academy Exchange, the persona he needed to project to the outside world was that of an outstanding, mystery-shrouded man.
Only in this way could he systematically spark the curiosity of the Church of Light's current Saintess, thereby creating opportunities for contact.
For this reason, he was more than happy to lend a hand with what he could to build a gentlemanly and reliable first impression.
The gazes from the girls of other academies around him were the best proof that this strategy was already bearing fruit.
"Do you honestly think I believe you?" Victoria scoffed. "You're definitely plotting something sneaky again!"
Bothered to pry no further, she turned to look at Silvia, who was walking on the other side, and said, "Silvia, hand your luggage to Greg too. I feel like carrying just mine is way too easy for him."
Silvia hurriedly shook her head. "I-It's fine, I can carry it myself! There's no need to trouble Senior Greg!"
However, Greg had already reached out and taken her suitcase right out of Silvia's hand. "It's fine, leave it to me. This really is nothing to me."
Silvia opened her mouth, but in the end didn't refuse. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she whispered a soft "Thank you."
Victoria swept her gaze across the square and noticed Lilith standing not far away, her eyes drifting in their direction every now and then.
A playful smirk curved up the corner of Victoria's mouth, and she sauntered over, asking in an intentionally provoking tone, "What's wrong? Is Her Highness the Princess envious too? Wishing someone would carry your luggage for you?"
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Lilith snapped her head away in an instant, her voice raising an octave: "Hmph! I don't want him carrying my luggage at all! So I'm not envious in the slightest!"
Greg naturally wouldn't let slip this opportunity to showcase his gentlemanly demeanor.
He walked over to Lilith on his own accord and spoke in a gentle, earnest tone, "But I wish to share your burden, Princess Lilith. May I not?"
"?" Victoria looked at Greg suspiciously.
Lilith's face flushed red at a pace visible to the naked eye, the blush spreading all the way from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
She lowered her head, her fingers twisting hesitantly around the handle of her suitcase before finally handing it over. Her voice was as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito, yet it still carried that stubborn pride: "I-If you insist so much... it's not like I can't agree to it."
Taking the suitcase, Greg scanned his surroundings out of the corner of his eye—sure enough, the gazes from the girls of other magic academies around him had gained an added halo of considerate understanding.
He nodded inwardly; the effect of this strategy was even better than he had anticipated.
Compared to the benefits gained, the little bit of added weight in his hands was virtually nothing to him.
After all, through the high-intensity battles in the dungeon over this recent period, his Constitution had grown far beyond that of ordinary people, so a mere few suitcases posed no difficulty for him.
Just as he was thinking this, an aqua-blue figure suddenly walked over to stand right before him.
Vivian stood in front of him, expressionlessly holding out her suitcase.
Greg: "..."
For some reason, although there was no threat or coercion in those ice-blue eyes, they radiated a silent pressure that left him unable to refuse.
He remained silent for a moment before quietly reaching out and taking the suitcase.
The moment he took the suitcase, Vivian's originally cold eyes softened slightly, like a quiet trickle of spring water melting beneath ice.
She said nothing more, merely stepping quietly to the side.
And right at that moment—
"Um... G-Greg... could I trouble you with my luggage too?"
"Junior Greg..."
Two voices sounded almost simultaneously.
Instructor Alice, clutching a suitcase larger than herself, shuffled awkwardly over to Greg, her ice-purple eyes filled with pleading and anticipation.
Meanwhile, Senior Yelena also dragged a heavy trunk over, fine beads of sweat trickling down her forehead, clearly exhausted from hauling it all this way.
The smile on Greg's face barely held together as he spoke in a warm, gentlemanly tone: "It is my honor to resolve troubles for beautiful ladies."
Victoria finally confirmed her suspicion at last: "When exactly did your brain break?"
Rate on N.U.
